American Dreams & Mysteries: Naomi Hirahara & Kevin Jagernauth

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Step into the shadows with acclaimed authors Naomi Hirahara and Kevin Jagernauth as they explore the art of historical mystery. Hirahara’s Crown City follows a Japanese immigrant adjusting to his new life in California, where racial tensions are rising. Jagernauth’s The Longest Death tells the story of a group of people who will do anything to live the American Dream. Join us for a fascinating conversation on how the past inspires mystery and keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

Crown City

In turn-of-the-century California, two Japanese amateur detectives uncover the dark underbelly of their multicultural city—from the Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author of Clark and Division. Pasadena, 1903: Eighteen-year-old Ryunosuke “Ryui” Wada staggers off the boat from Yokohama, Japan, ready to reinvent himself after the untimely deaths of his parents. Though battling loneliness and culture shock, Ryui does his best to settle into his work as an art dealer’s apprentice while adjusting to his new home.

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Buy from Penguin Random House Canada

The Longest Death

Two lovers plot a daring heist in this atmospheric noir about fate and fortune on the fringes of the American dream. Post-war Riverton has little to offer Richard, a mild-mannered loner working a dead-end job at Eddy & Dowd Safe Deposit Company. When he meets Marlon, a smooth-talking confidence man, Richard finds his partner in crime.

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Buy from House of Anansi Press

Naomi Hirahara

Naomi Hirahara is the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Edgar Award, and Lefty Award–winning author of Clark and Division and Evergreen; the Mas Arai mystery series, including Summer of the Big Bachi, which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year; and the LA-based Ellie Rush mysteries. A former editor of The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, she has co-written nonfiction books like Life After Manzanar and the award-winning Terminal Island: Lost Communities on America’s Edge.

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Kevin Jagernauth

Kevin Jagernauth is a pop culture critic who has written about cinema, music, and literature for over twenty years. Born in Ottawa, he currently resides in Montreal. The Longest Death is his first novel.

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